"You don't own me. You can't tell me what to do and expect me to blindly obey you. I-"
"Devyn, this is the last time I will explain this to you," he said lowly, "You are mine. You belong to me and you will do as I say," he began stepping toward me until he had me trapped between the wall and his body, "I chose you and you will submit to me. One way or another."
Not ready to lose this easly, I looked up at him and spat, "Asshole."
******
Devyn Sinclare hasn't had the best life. Her abusive father left her and her mother alone on her sixth birthday, and since that day, things just went downhill. Her mom was diagnosed with lung and bronchial cancer along with having a miscarriage, and Devyn fell into addictive and self-destructive behaviors. Luckily, she has her childhood friends, Jace and Penny, walking with her through everything. Along with the new friends, she will meet over the years. Just as life seemed to be getting better, schools began getting attacked. There were reports of schools being on lockdown and even reports of girls being taken. Sometimes they would return home, sometimes all signs of them would vanish. When it seemed it couldn't get any worse, a voice over the speakers would change her life forever.
Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option.
*****
Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her...
Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault.
[[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]